Snoring Partner Help: How to Sleep with a Snorer

The head on the pillow beside you may be a dearly loved one; except that he or she may literally be causing you sleepless nights. Snorers tend to do this to those who are literally nearest and dearest to them – disturbing night time sleep, causing interruptions and probably affecting a relationship negatively as well. After all snoring has contributed to the end of more than one marriage!

So how does one manage to get restful sleep even with that trumpeting cacophony emanating from the pillow beside you?

Give him or her a nudge – Sometimes that may be all that you need to do to get the snorer to stop long enough for you to fall asleep – hopefully after this you will stay asleep! The nudge or poke will also cause them to turn over and settle on their side, and this is the position that snorers are less likely to snore in. Lying on the back is known to increase likelihood of snoring, so try and get them to turn on to their side.

Change the angle of sleep – Elevating the head either by a different/thicker pillow, or tilting the angle of the bed upward toward the head, can also help.

Suggest singing – Many people find that their snoring is reduced by virtue of singing, which tends to tighten the soft palate. So take choir class together or just get them to sing along with the radio!

Block out the noise – Try earplugs or earmuffs and see if you can simply block out the noise. White noise may also help cancel out the snoring so try a white noise generator, CD or MP3 track.

Try snoring aids – Nasal strips, mouth pieces, air masks and such devices are thought to help enlarge the nasal passage through which the breath is taken, and by widening this passage it may be possible to lessen the vibration that causes snoring.

Make suggestions to avoid triggers – If you need a good night’s sleep for a particular reason, try and suggest that he or she avoid triggers such as alcohol and smoking; known triggers of snoring.

Find out about any allergies your partner may have – Allergies are a known snoring trigger and so make sure that allergies are identified and got under control.

Get healthy together – Being overweight is seen to be a risk factor for snoring, though not all overweight people snore; neither is it true that thin people don’t snore. However, it could well be that getting an overweight down to a healthier weight may improve overall health which could in turn reduce snoring.